Emami Art presents ‘Between the Self and Silhouettes’ A dual show of Soma Das and Anjan Modak, curated by Adip Dutta
Kolkata 8th April, 2022 Emami Art, one of India’s leading contemporary art galleries based in Kolkata presents ‘Between the Self and Silhouettes’, a dual show of Soma Das and Anjan Modak, curated by Adip Dutta. The exhibition will be on display from 8th April to 4th June, 2022 from 11 am to 6 pm on the ground floor of Emami Art at Kolkata Centre for Creativity.
The self extends itself on to others. A simultaneous acknowledgement of the passerby and recognition of the shadow of one’s self falling on the other constitute the connection. The works of Soma Das and Anjan Modak centre around a sense of empathy that accounts for a search of the self under the pretext of watching numerous others situated around the artist. The relentlessness of recording figures in action, not only indicates the circumstances of the subjects, but also that of the artists who take both the role of an insider and an outsider in looking at them. Thus the figures are marked with a sense of attachment and detachment at the same time.
The physical distance from the figure being quietly observed with the probing eye of a researcher becomes evident from the subject’s comfortable body language. But it is that meticulously constructed single moment in the life of the figure in action, that emotionally connects the artist, especially Soma Das, with the one being watched. Anjan, on the other hand weaves the sequences of a latent drama wherein his protagonists perform roles in a poignant visual language. Soma and Anjan, both respond to the site and situation that they share with their protagonists, often as ethnographer-artists, exploring designs of the relationship between people and social conditions. The process begins with almost compulsive acts of documenting moments that after a point of time begin to transform the banal into the significant. The layout of the exhibition is an attempt to track those passages wherein the artists tread through enumerable silhouettes, looking for the remarkable self.
“Occasionally in the past, I had chanced upon the works of Soma Das and Anjan Modak. I have selectively responded to them as well. But revisiting their entire body of works became an engaging act as it revealed a keen sense of the space shared by both the artists and their subjects. Ways of seeing became points of connection with their thought processes, often found in a form of conversation between each other” says Adip Dutta, Curator.
“I have the pleasure of presenting Between the Self and Silhouettes, an exhibition by the duo Anjan Modak and Soma Das, which shows a large body of artworks, delineating significant aspects of their creative oeuvre. It is also a moment of personal happiness that we have been representing these two talented young painters from Bengal since the gallery's inception. This exhibition testifies to our incredible journey of working together,” said Ms. Richa Agarwal, CEO Emami Art.
ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHIES
Soma Das
Born in 1979 in Kolkata, West Bengal, Soma Das studied painting at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, graduating in 2009.
She has been the subject of the solo show Different Facets of Life at Gallery Nakshtra, Kolkata, 2010. She has participated in many group exhibitions in Kolkata including Constellations at Emami Art (2021), CIMA gallery, Weavers Studio, Aakriti Art Gallery and ICCR. Her work has also been featured in the exhibitions and art fairs in Delhi and Mumbai.
She was the recipient of State Academy Award in 2008.
Soma Das lives and works in Kolkata.
Anjan Modak
Born in Kolkata, West Bengal, in 1982, Anjan Modak studied painting at Rabindra Bharati University.
He has been the subject of the solo shows, Fragmented Life (2020) and Black, White and More (2016), both at Emami art, Kolkata. His work has been featured in many significant group exhibitions, including Constellations at Emami Art, (Kolkata, 2021), at Tamarind Art Gallery, (New York, 2008, 2010); Habitat Foundation, (New Delhi, 2008); and Rajya Charukala Parshad, (Kolkata, 2014-2017); CIMA Gallery, (Kolkata, 2017, 2019); ICCR, (Kolkata, 2014); among others.
Represented by Emami Art, over twenty-five paintings by Anjan Modak entitled The Common Man were shown in the India Art Fair, New Delhi (2020).
Anjan Modak lives and works in Kolkata.
About Emami Art: Emami Art, one of the most significant art institutions in the eastern part of India, is a key space for cultural production in the region. The organisation is focused on a future-forward, complex, multi-dimensional approach and steadfast in the advocacy of emerging, mid-career and established artists as well as an engagement with contemporary and historical material. The gallery aims to create dynamic, wide-ranging registers of exhibition-making and viewing. Deeply committed to promoting a regional, national and international agenda through innovative and alternative programming, emphasis on community and socially relevant engagements, institutional partnerships and more via a multi-year vision for the future, Emami Art is resolute to be a catalyst of change, research, innovation and inclusivity. Emami Art, Kolkata Centre for Creativity 777 Anandapur off EM Bypass. www.emamiart.com
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